"O"ne weekend to remember

This past weekend we had our TechCru Fall Retreat. It was three days and two nights of messages from 1 Corinthians, heartfelt worship, a women's time that was one of the most powerful things I've been a part of, and you know a TON of fun.

I want to share a little bit about the womens time. It was called Stand up for your Sisters. Basically it was a time to show girls they are not alone. Here's how it worked...the girls filled out a survey anonymously that had 26 vulnerable questions. Things like "Have you been abused?" and "Have you struggled with eating for comfort?" The girls filled them out all with the same pen circling only a yes or a no. Then they turned them in, we shuffled them around, then passed them back out. So each girl had a survey that was not theirs.

Then the powerful part.

The survey was read out loud and for each question if there was a yes circled, the girls stood up. They were standing up for one of their sisters in the room. For each question, there was always at least more than one person standing. It showed them, that stuff is hard. Life is hard. BUT they aren't alone. Even better, the Lord is bigger. The Lord loves them. The Lord has a plan for them. The Lord wants to heal them. Through passages in the Bible, they were able to see the Lord gives freedom in whatever has happened or is happening in their life. I couldn't help but cry when I saw so many girls stand up for some of the issues. It broke my heart to see the pain they each must carry, BUT it was incredible to see the healing process beginning in so many of them as they realized they weren't alone. We aren't alone.